


Helping Hands

by orphan_account



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: M/M, au!crisscolfer, deaf!darren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 17:51:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4634610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris works at a deaf relay telephone service. Darren's his first caller of the night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helping Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I watched a video on Youtube and got a little bit of inspiration! Unsure if this will be continued or just stick as a one shot for now, but hey, it helped with some writers block and distracted me from the fact I'm about 7k behind on my CCBB *hides*
> 
> Not beta-d, all mistakes are mine!
> 
> Enjoy anyways!

Chris let out a deep sigh as he fiddled with the grey connection cord of his regulation headset, preparing for another long evening at Helping Hands Relay. It wasn't that he hated his job or that he couldn't be bothered to work but he'd had a tiring week and had been looking forward to a quiet evening in with his laptop and cat before a call came in from his supervisor needing emergency cover due to another staff member re-enacting a scene from The Exorcist in the employees only bathroom and Chris really wasn't in a position where he could say no to a little extra money in his end of month wages.

 

Chris leant back in his chair as he waited for his system to catch up with his commands. When he had moved to Michigan, almost a year ago, he had been overjoyed at the even the smallest glimmer of ideas and prospects that would await him but so far he had been met with returned, unopened, manuscripts and doors in his face. A couple of months ago he had resigned himself to the fact he couldn't live on his savings for much longer and had started a 'stop gap' job hunt. He pulled out every post-college age stereotype job role he could find and searched bookstores, coffee shops and even the odd record stores for openings but came home empty handed every day.

 

Helping Hands Relay had come along by pure chance, his mother had called him one Monday morning to ensure he would be available that evening as Hannah, his younger sister, had wanted to talk to him but their town had suffered a power outage so video chat was out of the question and she had gone out even earlier to pick up a pre-loaded cell so that Hannah would be at least able to chat with Chris over the phone.

 

Chris was always overjoyed at learning new things and being able to absorb any kind of knowledge he could get his hands on so when he learnt that his college offered ASL classes as well he signed up as an extra-curricular and had kept going ever since.

 

When the evening had come around his mom text him to say that Hannah had had a really long day and she was signing everything. When Chris was younger and his parents were trying to entertain two small children Hannah would get tired a lot and the hospital where she had most of her stays had weekly ASL classes so when Hannah was too tired to talk she could just sign what she needed.

 

Chris was ready with his diary in hand to schedule in another date with Hannah when his mother told him that Hannah had thrown multiple tantrums when faced with the possibility of not speaking to her bubba and that they were going to use a relay service. Chris would be on Skype with the service provider, his mom and Hannah would be on speaker phone and his mom would tell the advisor everything Hannah signed. Chris sighed when his mom had explained the process, he didn’t really have hours available two evenings a week to be doing this and couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just reschedule even if it meant having to wait a little bit more time before he could speak to his favourite person. He missed Hannah, and his parents, but he needed to be searching for a job.

 

The actual set up for the call took longer than the call itself. His mom spent twenty minutes trying to convince Hannah to join in because she was convinced since she couldn’t see or hear Chris that it wasn’t real. Whilst his mom was rounding up Hannah, Chris got speaking to Natalia, the operator he had been paired with, they spoke about their days and he found out that Helping Hands were looking for three new operators due to a couple of staff leaving and one member going on maternity leave. Before his mom came back Chris asked the operator if they had an office in Michigan and what their address was and promised he would be by as soon as possible with a resume for them.

 

The next day Chris met with the branch supervisor, Jane, and by the following Tuesday he was sat in the very same desk, playing with a slightly newer looking grey wire and waiting for his computer to allow him to register as a new employee.

 

Chris sat up straight when the familiar Helping Hands Logo popped onto his screen showing him that his system was ready for him to start his shift. He enjoyed doing the later evening shifts because the calls tended to always lean toward people wanting take away or to make a quick call to their partners/parents/roommates to let them know they were on their way home after texts had gone unanswered. Occasionally he got something different but, on a late evening, it was rare.

 

Chris wound his earpiece around his outer ear and comfortably positioned the bud so it wasn’t pushing too far into his ear, he had learnt the hard way that some caller’s phones made horrendous screeching noises when connecting and he wasn’t in a rush to repeat that any time soon.

 

Almost as soon as he was ready Chris heard the familiar ringing tone in his ear to signal that a caller was waiting for him. He quickly accepted the call and adopted his ‘working pose’ of back straight, eyes forward and hands ready.

 

His screen changed from the cool blue to a man in a darkened room, Chris squinted to see that only the man’s shoulders and the bottom part of his face was visible. It wasn’t odd for Chris to only be able to see a part of his callers, some people only directed their cameras at their hands.

 

**HELLO, WELCOME TO HELPING HANDS. COULD I TAKE THE NAME AND NUMBER OF WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONNECTED TO?**

 

Chris watched intently as the man loosened his tie slightly and slid forward in his seat, he began to sign a string of numbers that Chris typed into his computer, at the same time, with his other hand.

 

**WHO IS THE PERSON I AM CONNECTING YOU TO?**

 

Chris liked to be able to greet whoever was at the other end of the line so that it didn’t sound so formal and stilted when he did his scripted description of what the call would entail. Chris saw the corners of the caller’s mouth go up in a small smile.

 

_I DON’T KNOW YET._

Chris tried not to let his confusion show in his expression and simply smiled and nodded before pressing the ‘dial’ option on his keypad. He waited until he heard the ringing tone through his headset once more, holding up his fist to indicate for his caller to wait and then changing his sign by pointing his pinkie and thumb out and bouncing it slightly from side to side to tell his caller that the phone was ringing.

 

“We Like It Hard, what takes your fancy, baby?”

 

Chris eyes widened as he realised what kind of number he had dialled. He looked away from his phone screen and back to the caller who was still smiling and waiting for Chris to connect him.

 

“I’m sorry?” Chris spluttered out.

 

“What kind of fun are you looking for tonight?” He guessed the woman on the end of the other line was trying to sound sultry but since Chris had little to no experience about what a woman sounded like when she was turned out it just sounded like she had a bit of a cold to him.

 

“I think… I need to put you on hold for just a second. Thanks.” He quickly pushed the ‘hold’ button on his screen before looking back at the man’s chest.

 

**I THINK IT’S AN ADULT LINE. IS THE NUMBER RIGHT?**

 

Chris signed the number back to his caller and his cheeks blushed when the man signed back that it was.

 

_I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LINE IT IS. I AM AN ADULT._

 

Chris saw the man grin, showing his teeth, and he couldn’t help but think it was a very attractive smile but in the situation it just wasn’t appropriate.

 

**SO, YOU WANT… A SEX LINE?**

 

Chris paused a few times when signing, uncomfortable with his phrasing, he had learnt most of the more adult phrases and curses during a drunken night with a friend in his ASL classes in college but it had just been for fun, he never thought he would actually have to use them.

 

The caller held up both his thumbs to signal that Chris was correct.

 

“Oh fuck.” Chris muttered under his breath and took the woman off of hold.

 

“Hello? Who do you want to talk to?” The woman questioned once more.

 

“Hi, my name is Chris. I’m calling from Helping Hands Relay Service, I ha-“

 

“Honey, I don’t give a crap who you are. I’m just the operator. Tell me what you want and I’ll find them for you.” The woman interrupted Chris, her odd affliction gone from her voice and replaced with exasperation.

 

“Of course, hold on just one second.”

 

**WHO DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO?**

 

_WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?_

 

“What options do you have?”

 

“It all depends what you’re in to.”

 

**IT DEPENDS WHAT YOU PREFER**

_WHAT DO THEY OFFER?_

“Are there… categories that to choose from?” Chris felt his face heat up again as he thought back to a couple of nights ago when he couldn’t sleep and he chose his laptop and ‘solo male’ as a goodnight technique. He heard the woman on the phone sigh before she spoke again.

 

“Lesbians, big cocks, Asian, role plays, big asses, amateurs, threesomes, blowjob, toys, anal, bondage, ass worship,  interracial,  cum swapping, face sitting, glory holes, twinks, vintage, facials, cumshots, shaving, domination, cougars, swingers, daddies, bears, mutual masturbation, hetero sex, food, spanking, edging, squirting, male or female solo masturbation, cuckolding, female oral, HD or sex machines. You tell me, we’ve got something for everyone.”

 

“That’s, that’s a lot… Hold on.” Chris was pretty sure his face could light up the entirety of Manhattan at that point. He wasn’t a porn virgin but hearing all of the categories read out like that sure made it seem like there was an endless supply of choice for all tastes and kinks.

 

Chris panicked at having to try to remember the entire list.

 

**THEY HAVE STRAIGHT OR GAY MALE SEX, BLOWJOBS OR SOLO MASTURBATION.**

The caller bit his lip and signed back rapidly.

 

_THAT’S IT? NO CUM PLAY OR BIG TITS?_

Chris sighed, of course he was going to be in for an hour of the straightest sex he’d ever experience…. Ever. He was going to end up describing a female masturbation, talking about parts he’d only ever learnt about in anatomy back in high school. Great.

 

**NO. JUST THOSE OPTIONS.**

_OKAY. I’LL HAVE GAY MALE._

Wait, he’ll have what? Chris shifted in his chair, thankful for the fact he had a corner desk and no-one could see his screen or his lap.

 

“Gay male, please.” Chris repeated to the operator and was met with a waiting tone which he took to mean he was being connected to someone that could offer those services.

 

**CONNECTING NOW**

Chris nodded and offered an uncomfortable smile when the caller signed his thanks. Chris held up a fist when he heard the connection tone change to a dial tone.

 

“Hello, my name’s Troy. What’s yours gorgeous?” The voice sounded quite deep and shocked Chris into action.

 

“Hello, my name is Chris. I’m calling from-” Chris began his greeting for the third time only to be cut off once more.

 

“Wow, Chris. You sound hot, baby.” The voice crooned in Chris’ ear and he felt his mouth falling and forming a distasteful frown.

 

_WHAT’S HAPPENING?_

“No, no. Not me. I’m sorry. I’m calling from Helping Hands Relay. I have a caller on the line that uses sign language and I’m going to be interpreting for you both today.” Chris rushed out his explanation before he could get dragged further into the chat with ‘Troy’

 

**I’M JUST EXPLAINING WHAT THE CALL WILL BE ABOUT TONIGHT.**

Chris let out an irritated sigh at the fact he couldn’t see his caller’s face. It was usually much easier to keep track of the speed the call needed to be or if he needed to provide further explanation.

 

_OKAY_

“What?”

 

“Oh, so, basically what will happen is that you will speak to me as if you are speaking to the caller and I will sign for him what you’ve said and then we’ll work in the reverse for his reply.” Chris always used the same explanation for those that weren’t used to how relay services worked and it usually did the trick to get the call moving along.

 

“So he’s deaf?”

 

“Yes, he is. He is using sign language to communicate”

 

“So he can’t hear anything I’m saying?”

 

“No, he can’t. He’s deaf.” Chris didn’t know how many times he would have to explain the situation so he quickly flipped up his emails and sent an amber alert to his supervisor signalling that his current call would be a bit longer than the norm. Every operator was always told to take their time and spent as long as the caller needed to on the phone but on busy evenings they had to send updates to ensure that there were always enough advisors on hand to take the rest of the calls coming through.

 

“So he can’t hear me but he can hear you.” ‘Troy’ sounded confused again,

 

“No, no. He can’t hear _anything_ but he can _see_ me so I am signing the call for him.”

 

“I know sign language.” Troy replied and Chris held his hand up to his caller again to signal that there would be another delay.

 

_IT’S OKAY, TAKE YOUR TIME._

Chris saw the caller smile, seemingly happy to wait, and he found himself pleased that he couldn’t see the rest of him. Chris spent enough time staring at people’s hands and faces to know that if his caller’s face was as attractive as his hands then this call would be even harder than it already was.

 

“I know turtle and dick.” ‘Troy’ continued and Chris wondered where on earth those two signs would come in to play.

 

“Wait. Can he see me?”

 

“No, he can only see me. I’m basically on skype. You’re using a regular phone.” It was like talking to a brick wall.

 

“Right. I think I understand. You two can see each other, only you can hear me.” ‘Troy’ summarised.

 

“Exactly that, yes!” Chris clapped his hands slightly in relief that they seemed to have gotten their eventually and he smiled when he saw his caller give him a thumbs up, clearly it was showing in Chris’ face just how difficult it had been to explain to the agency worker what was happening.

 

“What does he look like?”

 

“Um. I can only see… Well, he’s wearing a nice shirt. He has strong looking forearms. Nice shoulders too. Cute. I’d say cute.” Chris blushed as his eyes roamed over the caller trying to describe what his limited view allowed him. Chris saw the caller smile again and he assumed it was a smile to show Chris he was still happy to wait as long as it took.

 

“So what’s his name? Did you tell me that already?”

 

“You’ll need to talk to me as if I’m him. That’s going to be the easiest way.”

 

“Right then… Well. Er. What’s your name?” Chris let out a sigh of relief at the fact that his call should, hopefully, go a lot quicker now. It was always the explaining that took the most effort.

 

Chris arched one eyebrow in what he hoped was a slightly more sultry look, trying to recall his drama classes from middle school, if he was going to get through this call without imploding with embarrassment then he was going to have to do it as someone else.

 

**WHAT’S YOUR NAME?**

 

“Darren”

 

“Shit. This is slow. Will it take this long for everything? I’m gonna need more than one word answers soon.”

 

“I’m sorry, there will be a delay. I need to let Darren finish what he wants to say before I tell you. You’ll have to bear with us.” Chris felt his skin prickle at the impolite attitude from ‘Troy’ from what he understood these types of lines paid by how long a customer was on the phone and if ‘Troy’ was employed to provide a service then he should be doing so with a different approach than plain discontent with how they needed to communicate.

 

“Fine. Fuck. Isn’t it a bite late for you to be up Darren?”

 

**ISN’T IT A BIT LATE FOR YOU TO BE AWAKE STILL?**

_I’M JUST FINISHING UP SOME WORK. NEEDED SOMETHING A BIT LIGHER TO CONCENTRATE ON. WHAT ABOUT YOU?_

Chris tried to not let his appreciation show when Darren let his mouth curl up into an alluring smirk. He had found himself drawn to some different things in the past, admiring a strangers body from afar, heart beating faster at the sound of a beautiful voice on his car radio but being so attracted to the bottom half of a caller’s face was definitely a new one for him.

 

“Finishing some work. I wanted something lighter to concentrate on. What about you?”

 

“I was just waiting for you, baby.” Chris squinted his eyes slightly at the return of the pet names, it was something he could never get on with when his exes used them and his chest still tightened when people used them constantly.

 

_JUST WAITING FOR YOU, BABY._

**WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?**

 

“What are you wearing?” Chris tried not to roll his eyes too obviously at the bad line. He had to remember that even though ‘Troy’ had no idea what he was doing, Darren could see him all too clearly.

 

“Tight red briefs. How about you?”

 

**RED TIGHT BRIEFS. YOU?**

Chris watched as Darren bit the left side of his bottom lip in thought.

 

_WOULD IT BE BETTER TO SAY I’M DRESSED IN A TIGER ONESIE?_

Chris snorted as he watched Darren pretend to be deep in thought, stroking his chin. Apparently the suit and shirt didn’t mean Darren was as sensible as he appeared to be, well as much as someone who calls a relay service with phone sex in mind rather than just watching porn on the internet like most people would do.

_MAYBE WE’D BETTER GO FOR SOME BLACK BOXERS. NOTHING ELSE._

“Hey. You still there? What’s going on?” Troy interrupted the light atmosphere, Chris had almost forgotten the other man was still there.

 

“Yes. I’m sorry. Black boxers. Nothing else.”

 

There was a pause and Chris swore he heard another person’s voice on the other end of the line but it was quickly covered with ‘Troy’ again.

 

“Is he really? Be honest.”

 

“Well, no. He’s in a suit. No jacket thought. His tie is undone too. He looks comfortable.” Chris began to ramble once he’d realised he had completely excluded Darren from the conversation accidentally. When he started at Helping Hands the first thing they taught you was that it’s not your conversation, you are merely there to help and nothing more.

 

_YOU’LL RUIN THE ILLUSION IF YOU TELL HIM THE TRUTH._

Chris stared at Darren with wide eyes.

 

**WHAT TRUTH?**

 

Chris had no idea what Darren meant. Surely the illusion was created by ‘Troy’

 

_THAT I’M WEARING A SUIT. WITHOUT A JACKET OF COURSE. THE TIE PLACEMENT ISN’T TOOIMPORTANT, IS IT?_

**WHAT? I DIDN’T SAY THAT.**

 

Chris kept his eyes trained on Darren as he stood up from his chair and moved his face closer to the camera and seemed to be on the top of Darren’s screen. He kept moving closer until all Chris could see was a pair of plump lips and Darren’s finger tapping where they met.

 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Troy interrupted again.

 

“I-I’m sorry we’re just having a technical glitch, I’m just going to put you on hold for a second.” Chris tapped the hold button on his phone before turning his head back to face Darren again.

 

**I DON’T UNDERSTAND.**

_I CAN LIP READ, SWEETHEART._

Chris’ mouth dropped open and his cheeks flushed. He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid as not to think of that when answering ‘Troy’s’ questions so candidly. Chris shifted from side to side in his chair, uncomfortable with Darren’s smug, easy, smile and the way his heart had seemingly sped up after watching Darren sign sweetheart to him.

**I’M SO SORRY. HE JUST ASKED SO I ANSWERED.**

 

_I FORGIVE YOU BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU CALLED ME CUTE._

**WHAT? NO I DIDN’T!**

Chris signed quickly. A frown set on his face.

 

 _YOU DID TOO._ A pause followed and another smirk on Darren’s face appeared. _AND YOU LIKE MY SHOULDERS._

 

**YES. I APPRECIATE A GOOD SET OF SHOULDERS BUT THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. THIS IS YOUR CALL.**

 

Chris’ hands began to speed up as he got more and more worked up unused to being called out the way Darren was doing.

 

_HEY. CALM DOWN. YOU’RE RIGHT. THIS IS MY CALL SO LET’S GET BACK TO IT._

Chris watched Darren bob his head slight in deference before raising his palms to indicate to Chris he was ready to continue.

 

**NO. I THINK IT’S BEST IF I TRANSFER YOU AND YOUR CALLER TO ANOTHER PERSON. PLEASE HOLD.**

 

Chris pushed his ‘caller hold’ button harder than he thought possible, his screen went blue and he finally let his eyes screw up in embarrassment. He had grown up used to people isolating him and mocking him for his eccentricity but since moving to Michigan he had found that mocking turn into jokes and jabs about guys he found hot, pictures he had in his phone of photoshoots posted on celeb websites and whilst he found it amazing that he was so accepted almost no matter where he went he still found it hard to associate jokes aimed at him, and his sexuality, with a smile and laughter and not wincing and hiding away in his bedroom.

 

One look to his left confirmed that both ‘Troy’ and Darren had stayed on their respective lines whilst Chris had them on hold. Chris pushed back from his desk and walked to the far right of the room, waiting for Diana to finish up her call.

 

“Hey Chris, what can I do for you?” She smiled up at Chris, flipping her hair out of her eyes.

 

“I’ve got a caller on my line and I need you to take over.” Chris hated to admit he wasn’t good at anything but he knew Diana wouldn’t judge him so was happy to ask for her help when he needed it.

 

“What’ve they done? Is it a prank again?”

 

“No. At least I don’t think so. He’s just… It’s too much for me today. Would you mind?” He nervously tapped his foot on the hardwood flooring hoping that she wouldn’t ask any more questions.  

 

“Sure, pass him through. 19040.”

 

“Thanks.” Chris walked back over to his desk and loaded up a transfer before making sure both ‘Troy’ and Darren were handed over to 19040, lovely Diana.

 

Chris cleared his screen from anything related to Darren and tried to sweep his mind in the same manner. His mom had always told him he held on to too many grudges and negative emotions as a child and he had carried that through his teens and into adulthood. Sometimes it came in handy, like remember that he _never wanted_ the brunette in Starbucks to make his tea at 7:30am before he started a morning shift because she always put milk in first and it just started his day off badly, and other times he hated the fact he could never forget how his neighbour upstairs took up line dancing in the first month of him moving in two years back and that he still made sure to never smile at her when they passed picking up their mail.

 

Chris took a large gulp from the bottle of water he kept at the side of his desk before sliding his earpiece back into its original place, ready to take his next call and just leave his Darren/’Troy’ embarrassment behind. Before he even had the chance to register himself for another call he felt a tap on his shoulder. Chris turned around and saw Diana standing there with a blush showing high on her pale cheeks and a slightly sad smile on her face.

 

“Colfer. He wants you.” Diana offered a shrug of her shoulders before titled her head to the left awaiting Chris’ answer.

 

“What?” Chris pulled his headset from around his ear and threw it lightly down on the desk with a large sigh.

 

“He’s said he’s sorry if he offended you but it’s only going to work if it’s _you_ apparently. I don’t meet his standards apparently.” Diana smirked at Chris’ deep blush working its way across his nose from his pink cheeks.

 

“Do I have to?” Chris pushed his palms onto his cheeks and threaded his fingers up under his glasses to rub at his tired eyes.

 

“He’s _very_ insistent. Just get this one done and then go for the night. I can hold down the fort for a couple of hours. Okay?” She lightly pushed a bit of Chris’ fringe that had fallen on to his forehead back and school her face into such a forlorn expression that even a mob boss would have struggled to say no to her.

 

“Fine. 18454.” Chris turned back around before he could regret his decision at the happy look on Diana’s face. He took himself off of breaks, put his ear piece back in, and waited for a symbol on his monitor to show he had a transfer ready for him.

 

Chris kept his gaze trained forward awaiting the now familiar view of Darren’s shoulders and the bottom half of his mouth but what he was greeted with was something altogether new and definitely not unwelcome. The camera angle had been adjusted, Darren had shed his pressed shirt and was now sat in a black vest and Chris could see his whole face from his dark, seemingly damp, curls to his light amber eyes and then back down to the mouth Chris had become familiar with over the past half an hour. The only difference was instead of the sure smirk painted on his lips, Darren’s mouth was turned down, and he looked almost contrite with a matching pair of slightly triangular eyebrows tilted to contribute to his sad expression. 

 

_MAN… I’M SORRY IF I WAS RUDE BEFORE._

 

Chris let himself smile slightly at the sign. Hannah often used it in exasperation when speaking about how often their parents hovered around her after a particularly bad episode.

 

**LET’S JUST GET THIS DONE. YOU CALLED HERE FOR A REASON AND WE’LL HAVE TO START AGAIN SINCE YOUR PARTNER HAS HUNG UP THE PHONE NOW.**

 

Chris dropped the sides of his mouth almost as quickly as he let them lift up, he knew some people would deem him as petty but he’d spent enough time trying to excuse the ignorant assholes he grew up with that as an adult he wasn’t going to let himself be another punchline.

 

_I DIDN’T. NO. I NEVER WANTED TO OFFEND YOU._

 

Darren kept his eyes trained on Chris, never once looking away, making sure Chris knew he meant what he was saying.

 

**WHY WOULDN’T YOU JUST LET DIANA TAKE YOUR CALL? YOU COULD BE HALFWAY TO HAPPY TOWN BY NOW.**

_IT JUST. I NEED IT TO BE YOU._

**IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE? A PRANK CALL?**

_NO. IT’S NOT. I COULD JUST WATCH PORN BUT I WANT THAT PERSONAL CONNECTION. I NEED TO BE SPEAKING TO SOMEONE, IT MAKES IT FEEL..._

Chris watched as Darren fumbled to complete his sentences, his mouth forming words that his hands weren’t.

**IT MAKES IT FEEL?**

_REAL. IT FEELS REAL._


End file.
